anEditor’s Blog

A not-so-new but not-well-heard-of Web site has surfaced thanks to a recent article on National Public Radio. The site, FutureMe.org, is intended to enable a person to write an e-mail to himself or herself that will be delivered anytime between a paltry thirty days from now and fifty years into the future. In the past four years, more than 400,000 people have sent messages for a variety of reasons.

Granted, most people address letters to themselves, like a personal time capsule, but a use that would be more pertinent to our areas of interest, is to write letters to others in our lives, letters that will surprise their receivers in the future, just as lost letters and missing postcards have surprised some of us in years gone by. The site does not have a limit yet on the number of letters that can be sent, though abusers who use the site as a simple reminder service are allegedly dealt with . . .

Oh, and in case you’re worried about “moving” (changing e-mail addresses), FutureMe now has a management system that allows updating of addresses—no fair, though, changing or updating those messages! Get started here: FutureMe.org.

As a member of the Association of Personal Historians, I got invited to a preview screening of  The Ultimate Gift  last fall. The movie has now been released and is causing a resurgence in discussions over “ethical wills”  (which are also known as “legacy statements” and “legacy letters”).

Ethical wills are nonbinding letters to the heirs of a deceased that are written in addition to an actual will. They are usually intended to be upbeat and to relay messages to friends and family members who are left behind—often messages that the deceased could not deliver for one reason or another during his or her lifetime or general thoughts that he or she wanted to be sure were passed along one last time. Ethical wills sometimes contain

• explanations for difficult decisions or certain actions
• challenges and hopes for future generations
• valuable life lessons and experiences or memories

The story of The Ultimate Gift, for example, focuses primarily on one man’s lingering hope that his final protege, a “lost” grandson, “deserves” to inherit the family company—and fortune. From the film’s Web site:

When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens anticipates a big inheritance. Instead, his grandfather has devised a crash course on life with twelve tasks—or “gifts”—designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self-discovery and forcing him to determine what is most important in life: money or happiness.

If you are interested in learning about the potential for ethical wills, I suggest you see  The Ultimate Gift  (starring James Garner, Brian Dennehy, Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, Lee Merriwether, Alli Hillis, and child star Abigail Breslin).

Since the middle of last year, a widower named Peter has been sharing the story of his life on the video blogging site YouTube.com. His life story is fascinating, and, if you know of anyone who still does not understand the value of sharing personal histories, Peter’s stories will serve as an introduction and a justification. From laughter to tears, Peter tells us all about his life in England. Watch a few of his videos (most range in length from three to five minutes; very few stretch to eight) and enjoy him. I’ve always believed that everyone has a story to tell, and Peter’s words of history, reflection, and comment reinforce that belief. While you’re at the site, be sure to watch the video of the sketch artist who drew Peter’s portrait—it is amazing. And, take a look around YouTube, too. Sure, you’ll find lots and lots of junk, but somewhere amongst it all, you might just stumble upon another jewel or two.